Review ME Dubai, spectacular hotel but if you can't sleep it becomes a nightmare
The ME Dubai is one of the most iconic hotels opened in recent years. It will open on March 1, 2020, in the midst of [...]
United Arab Emirates
The ME Dubai is one of the most iconic hotels opened in recent years. Opened on March 1, 2020, at the height of the pandemic, it closed shortly thereafter and then reopened for good on September 1, 2021.
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The hotel belongs to the Melià chain. Both the exterior and interior were designed by archistar Zaha Hadid, who transformed this structure into a true work of art, unfortunately, however, without being able to see her work completed, having passed away in March 2016 at only 66 years old.
Reservation
Melià's loyalty program is one of the least nominated on our site, despite the fact that the Gold level is one of the benefits provided in the American Express Platinum. The reason is that the Spanish chain is not as widespread as Hilton and Marriott and especially Melià Rewards program is not as developed as those of competitors.
Sleeping one night in this facility is not cheap, whether you plan to pay cash or with points, as in our case. For a basic room, we spent 48,372 points for two nights, compared with an average price of more than €300 per night.
The Rewards program is not as rewarding as others; there are not many promotions that allow you to accumulate points, much less rich bonuses that make it easier to climb the status ladder. Points are made only by staying and only based on the room rate. One of the few certainties is that if you have elite status you will, almost certainly, get a free room upgrade
Check-in
Upon arrival, I thus discovered that my basic room had become a suite, exactly the Passion Suite, which is the second level of suite. This room at the time of my reservation had a cost of over 1,000 per night.
When you see the hotel from the outside, you notice the bridge connecting the two towers almost drawing an H, but when you put your foot inside the structure you are left speechless: the WOW effect here is to the nth degree, it feels like entering a museum not a hotel.
We are probably talking about one of the most aesthetically pleasing hotels in the world, the first and only one designed by Iraqi designer Hadid, and because of this it will forever remain an icon.
The room
The photos do not do justice; the design is not an end in itself at all. Everything has logic, everything is functional. Always. Without forgetting that we are talking about a hotel room, a place where most people pass by without paying attention before leaving for their next destination.
Here, however, everything is different, just as when you enter MOMA or visit the Colosseum, you have to sit in silence and contemplate every little detail, because you will not have a second chance to live inside a work of art. And this hotel is to all intents and purposes.
The suite is huge, the glass-only walls let in all the light of Dubai, and the hanging bed makes everything even more magical.
The contrast of light is in the blackness of the bathroom, nothing is left to chance. There is not an object out of place, everything has been meticulously studied, even the LED light beams hidden inside the mirror.
Hadid's iconic architectural curves are also here, in the sink and on the trim.
It's like being in one of those billionaires' houses that you see on TV or in fashion magazines, it's like we can all own the creation of an artist like Hadid for a night or two.
But the room is made for sleeping, and if you can't sleep then everything changes. The hotel is one of Dubai's new nightlife hotspots. Parties in the pool area go on every night, and the rooms are not soundproofed enough; it's like being at a party, and for a suite, that's definitely not acceptable.
The swimming pool
This is the cross and delight of the hotel. It is not huge; there are hotels in Dubai with significantly larger pools, not only the Atlantis which in this sense is out of the category, but also the Conrad has a significantly more spacious proposal. In addition to not being very large, you don't even notice much care in the design, it almost looks like an addition to the structure. It is also perfectly square, so it definitely did not come out of the pencil of the naturalized British Iraqi artist.
A feature of ME hotels is the Barrio rooftop, that is, a club on the rooftop of the hotel to drink and have fun. There is no rooftop here and the "barrio" has moved to the pool. The problem, however, is that at night the pool becomes a trendy club, full of people and music. Here precisely the combination of the loud music and the failure to insulate the windows of the rooms facing the pool make it impossible to sleep until 3 a.m.
The first night was a nightmare, partly because I was coming from an intercontinental flight and had a double time difference to work through. The second one was even worse. UNSPEAKABLE. Everything else absolutely goes by the wayside. To no avail were the protests of myself and other hotel guests.. Perhaps the music was turned down slightly, but it was now 2 a.m.
Very bad breakfast as well. With the pandemic, the buffet is 'dead,' but in a hotel like this the service expected is of utmost attention to the guest, so having to beg for two eggs with bacon and toast is unacceptable for a 5-star hotel. Even in the pool ridiculous cocktail list, embarrassing menu, really a disappointment.
In conclusion
The service from the staff from the concierge to the pool staff is good, but it is blown away by the fact that if you can't sleep in a hotel, it's not a hotel where it makes sense to go, no matter how aesthetically beautiful it is. If you then in a 5-star hotel, when you ask for bacon at breakfast and they look at you as if you had asked for A5 wagyu carpaccio, there is something really wrong.
This is just one of many reviews you can read on our site, covid and restrictions permitting. Every Wednesday we publish a review of a lounge airport, while every Friday you can read the review of one of our flights or a hotel where we stayed.
Pro
- The design
- The staff
Against
- The music in the pool
- Breakfast